


Recruitment

by 00AwkwardPenguin00



Series: Dragon of the Yuyan [32]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alcohol, Colonialism, Episode Tag, Episode: s03e01 The Awakening, Gen, Hakoda's a nice guy but he IS the leader of an army/nation, I'm taking that literally, Katara had said that Aang had been asleep for "a few weeks"?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Racism, a lot of swearing, also language, and therefore there is swearing, ie potentially murdering prisoners, please let me know what else I should tag, pretty much every character in this fic is some kind of combatant, remember how in The Awakening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:22:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29146623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00AwkwardPenguin00/pseuds/00AwkwardPenguin00
Summary: Gathering allies for a certain-to-be-suicidal attack on the capital of the Fire Nation is not a straightforward task.
Relationships: Bato & Hakoda (Avatar), Hakoda & Jee (Avatar), Hakoda & Katara (Avatar), Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda & The Gaang (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), The Duke & Pipsqueak & The Gaang, The Duke & Pipsqueak (Avatar)
Series: Dragon of the Yuyan [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582384
Comments: 707
Kudos: 1827





	1. Water Tribe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts).



> WHAT IS UP PEOPLE???
> 
> Yes, I am aware it has been a LONG ASS TIME. No, I will not apologize. 
> 
> Warning for a bit of heavy stuff, if there's anything specific you think I should tag PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Hakoda will readily admit that there are advantages to having a powerful firebender on their side. The crew of the FNN Cruiser _Yilong_ had been shocked into stillness when their fireblasts had been repelled, which had allowed Hakoda to take almost the entire crew captive rather than having to kill them. Killing them probably would've made more sense in the long run, but they do need the engineers to work the boilers, and it would probably be easier to convince them to do so if the majority of their crew-members are alive. Once the crew (some two hundred or so individuals) are safely locked up in the brig, Hakoda sends Zuko, Sokka, and Bato to the communications office on the ship to figure out the best direction to go.

It's decided that they'll head west, towards the Fire Nation. Sokka's invasion idea is too good to give up, and they can probably pull it off with some alterations. Sokka has an entire list of folks he wants to recruit for the mission, and Zuko has his own contacts he wants to try to find. The ship's comms office has its own messenger hawks, and Sokka immediately sends one off to the Northern Air Temple with ideas he'd had for equipment. Zuko looks like he's built a nest of scrolls and is preparing to settle in for the duration, but before he can, Hakoda asks him for his help.

"I need you to try to convince the ship's crew to join us," he tells the firebender baldly. "None of my men have any idea how to sail this tub, we need the engineers, if no one else."

Zuko regards him warily, golden eyes solemn. He glances over at Sokka, who is blithely perusing the shelved scrolls in the comms office, and picks up a piece of scrap paper and a charcoal stick. A few seconds of scribbling, then he thrusts the paper at Hakoda, shoulders square and jaw set.

_What are you planning on doing to them if they refuse?_

Hakoda sighs as he hands Zuko the scrap back. "I really want to say that we'll just put them in a few longboats and set them adrift, but we can't take the chance that they'll blow our cover if they're rescued. I'm sorry, Your Highness, but if they won't work with us… we're probably going to have to kill them." And he _is_ sorry. Hakoda hates killing in cold blood, it makes him feel like he's no better than the ash-maker who murdered Kya, but the safety of his children, his men, and the Avatar is at stake. He'll wield the blade himself if it comes to it, ensure the sailors' deaths are quick and painless, but he can't afford the risk of letting them go, or the risk of one of them escaping and raising the alarm.

Zuko sighs silently through his nose, turns over the scrap of paper, and starts to write, pausing a few times as he considers his words. When he's finished, he hands it to Hakoda.

_I think I can convince most of the rank-and-file, and maybe some of the more cynical officers. Ozai isn't nearly the military genius Azulon and Iroh were, and it's showing in the behavior of the men on the ground. He's also made some really shitty calls in regards to how the military is run, which may turn the officers in our favor. I agree that the safety of the Avatar and those loyal to our cause is paramount, and I will ensure that anyone who poses a threat is dealt with._

Fuck, he _really_ doesn't want a sixteen year old to be killing his own people. He doesn't want a sixteen year old killing _period_ , but he's always been an idealist.

"We'll deal with it as it comes up," he declares. "But we should take care of this sooner rather than later, I don't want us dead in the water when the rest of the fleet starts catching up."

Zuko nods, and snaps his fingers three times. Sokka's head snaps around in a move that makes Hakoda wince, but his son is already bouncing over, none the worse for wear.

"What's up, Jerkbender?" He asks, and watches with growing solemnity as Zuko signs to him. 

"Yeah, we should get on that," Sokka says with a nod after Zuko finishes. "Need me to be your voice?"

Zuko nods, expression grateful as he rubs a fist in a circle on his chest twice.

"No problem, buddy, let's go."

Hakoda leads the boys and Bato down to the brig, with a quick stop at the Quartermaster's to allow Zuko to change into a surprisingly well-fitted officer's uniform and scrape his hair into a Fire Nation topknot. With his hair tied back Hakoda can see that his scar extends past his hairline and encompasses the outer shell of his ear. It's truly a gruesome wound, and it looks old. Hakoda really doesn't want to think about how old Zuko had been when he'd received it, because he can't promise that he won't roar and savage something like a rabid polar bear dog. 

The brig is uncomfortably crowded with the two hundred some Fire Nation sailors. The hum of quiet conversation abruptly cuts off when Hakoda plants himself front and center and speaks in his most commanding _Addressing the Tribe_ voice.

“For anyone who doesn’t know, I’m Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. This is my Second, Bato. I’d like to discuss your options for the immediate future. Are there any ranking officers present who are able and willing to speak for your crew?”

The prisoners silently draw back as two men come forward. The first is about ten years older than Hakoda himself, with steel gray hair and a receding hairline emphasized by his tight topknot, and a dour expression on his weather-beaten face. The second is much younger, probably not a day over thirty, with wide bronze eyes and dark hair.

“Lieutenant Jee, Acting Captain,” the gray haired man declares. “This is the Acting Coxswain, Senior Crewman First Class Kazuo."

Hakoda nods to them. "Nice to meet you, gentlemen, though I wish it were under better circumstances. I have a proposition for you and your men. You can join our alliance, and when we reach the western coast of the Earth Kingdom, you'll be free to either continue with us or to disappear into the Fire Nation colonies without fear of pursuit."

Jee's soot black eyes narrow. "And if we refuse to join your alliance?" He growls.

Hakoda makes sure to look the man in the eye. "You'll be considered a threat to the security of our mission and disposed of accordingly."

Jee's lips thin, but he doesn't look too surprised. Kazuo gulps audibly and goes pale. The sailors behind them are eerily silent.

" _'There's something you should know, before you decide,'_ " Sokka's voice says suddenly, in the tone and cadence that Hakoda has come to recognize as his _Speaking for Zuko_ voice. He silently steps aside as Zuko steps forward, Sokka at his right hand.

Kazuo actually _squeaks_ in shock, and Jee's eyes nearly bug out of his head. Behind them, shocked whispers buzz through the cells.

"Prince… _Prince Zuko_ ," Jee whispers, before dropping to his knees and touching his forehead to the floor. Kazuo does the same, and so does _every single person_ in the brig cells, until all Hakoda can see are hunched backs.

If Zuko is surprised at the treatment, the only sign he gives is a slight stiffening of his shoulders beneath the odd shoulder pads of his armor. He signs to Sokka, who immediately says, " _'_ _Please rise, everyone.'_ "

Jee and Kazuo take a knee, but keep their heads bowed. The rest of the sailors only rise far enough to sit on their heels, and also keep their heads down.

Zuko signs again at Sokka, who quirks an eyebrow at him before saying in his normal tone, "My name is Sokka, son of Kya and Chief Hakoda, and Prince Zuko has asked me to be his voice while he talks to you guys."

Zuko begins signing, and Sokka adopts his interpreter's voice. " _'I don't know what the current rumors are as to my apparent demise or defection, and I don't particularly care. I'm here to tell you that you need to seriously consider Chief Hakoda's proposal.'_ "

Hakoda watches as a sixteen year old boy bluntly lays out the facts of the Fire Nation's recent military history. The list feels like it should be vindicating, but instead Hakoda finds himself indignant as he hears of the various instances of victories bought at the unjustifiable cost of Fire Nation lives, the cruelty shown to their own side by commanders who care more about their own glory than the men under their leadership, the dwindling number of recruits reaching even the fifth year of their service, the increasing reports of insubordination and desertion.

" _'You give the Fire Lord and his generals and admirals your loyalty, your courage, your skills and your lives, but you do not receive_ _their_ _loyalty in return,'_ " Zuko concludes. There's muffled weeping coming from a distant cell, and the sailors are staring at Zuko with expressions ranging from shocked and horrified to considering and even _vindicated_ . " _'Think about the comrades you've lost, the families you haven't seen in months or years, the commanding officers you've felt abused by and alienated from. The longer this war goes on, the worse things will get, not just for the rest of the world, but for the Fire Nation as well. If we work together with the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom, we have a chance of ending this war. We could see our homes, our_ _families_ _again, and never again worry that the next sunrise might be our last. We could have a Fire Lord who actually_ _cares_ _about his people, who doesn't throw our lives away for petty victories and meaningless glory. We could restore_ _honor_ _to the Fire Nation, and bring balance back to the world.'_ "

Zuko drops to one knee, Sokka's voice ringing out strongly as he signs. " _'I humbly ask you, my brothers and sisters under Agni's Light, to help me in this quest. I ask because I value your lives, and I value the lives of all of Agni's chosen, who are in mortal peril the longer Fire Lord Ozai is on the throne. Please help me save our people.'_ "

The silence stretches on, and Hakoda begins to worry that he may actually have to start performing executions.

 _“All hail Prince Zuko!”_ Calls a voice from the crowd, and suddenly the brig echoes with cheers and repetitions of the call. An expression of pure shock crosses the Prince’s face, but is quickly replaced with a small, joyful, _relieved_ smile.

Hakoda is relieved as well, although now he has to convince his warriors that the Fire Nation crew are _allies_ and not _enemies._

Needless to say, it’s not easy.

“You expect us to work _with_ the ash-makers?!” Shouts Arluk of the Sea-Wolf Clan. The bridge of the ship, where Hakoda is holding council with Bato, his Wayfinder Aquti, Zuko and Sokka, and the leaders of the ten war-bands that had joined with Hakoda’s own, rattles with the force of Arluk’s fury.

“What makes you certain that they will not turn on us the moment we let them out of the brig?” Sneers Nagyuk of the Caribou-Yak Clan.

“They are loyal to Prince Zuko, who in turn is loyal to the Avatar and the cause of peace,” Hakoda explains, trying desperately to keep the weariness out of his voice. None of them have slept yet, after taking the ship and getting everything arranged, and it shows in everyone’s fraying tempers.

“How do we know that _Prince Zuko_ isn’t planning on leading the prisoners in mutiny against us?” Demands Nirlik of the Puffin-Goose Clan. 

In the corner of his eye, Hakoda sees Zuko go bone white as Sokka leaps to his feet with a snarl. “Take that back! Zuko has been nothing but loyal to the Avatar, even when his own _sister_ tried to _murder_ him! Aang would be captured or dead _months_ ago if Zuko hadn’t been constantly protecting him! He would _never_ betray us!”

Sokka holds his glare with Nirlik until the (much) older warrior looks away. Zuko’s expression is completely neutral, but he’s still horribly pale and his gaze flicks from Sokka to Hakoda and back nervously.

“My son has been given the Mark of the Wise, and has spent the better part of a year in Prince Zuko’s company,” Hakoda says, careful to keep his tone even. “I trust his judgement of Prince Zuko’s character.”

“I gave Prince Zuko the Mark of the Brave myself,” Bato adds blandly, and half the council deflates.

“Look, I’m not saying that we should immediately forgive the Fire Nation for their crimes against the Tribe and the world,” Hakoda says. “But for now, we need to work together for the good of everyone. We can restrict access to the Avatar and his Masters, and we can make sure not to leak our plans for the mission, but if we’re to actually _get_ to where we need to be, we need the Fire Nation sailors. We’ll deal with issues as they come up, but let’s not borrow any more trouble than we already have.”

The council reluctantly agrees, and the warriors are instructed to leave the Fire Nation sailors _alone_ if they don’t otherwise have ship’s business to conduct. He knows from Sokka that Zuko and Captain Jee had given the Fire Nation sailors the same sort of talk, although theirs had been more along the lines of “let’s prove to Prince Zuko that the Fire Nation actually _IS_ honorable”. Hakoda had just threatened anyone who harassed a Fire Navy sailor with extra coal duty.

The ship is still incredibly tense for the first few days of their alliance, the Fire sailors keeping their heads down while the Water warriors glare but otherwise keep their distance. Hakoda and Bato make sure to be pleasantly professional with every Fire sailor they encounter, but aside from twice daily briefings with Jee and Kazuo, the two groups tend to avoid each other as much as possible.

This changes midmorning on the fourth day, when Zuko finally pries Katara out of the Avatar’s cabin for sparring. Hakoda finds the forward deck packed tight like a sack of seal jerky, and manages to (mostly gently) elbow his way to where Jee, Bato, and Sokka are gathered. Toph is seated at Sokka’s feet with Momo in her lap.

Katara looks exhausted, pale and with dark shadows under her eyes. She hasn’t changed out of the ragged clothes she’d been wearing when she and the others had fled Ba Sing Se, although her hair is combed and braided back. The expression on her face is deadly, aimed at the Fire Prince across the deck from her.

“What’s going on?” Hakoda asks, not quite sure he actually wants to know. He’s never seen Zuko act anything other than brotherly toward either Sokka or Toph, but with Katara practically in seclusion with the comatose Avatar he’s barely had a chance to say hello, much less observe how she interacts with the Prince.

“Sparky called Sugar Queen out for not taking care of herself, and now she’s all pissed off,” Toph says, sounding gleeful.

“I’ve never actually seen waterbending before,” Jee murmurs.

“Fancy a wager, Captain?” Bato asks, a familiar smirk crossing his face.

Jee studies him for a moment, scowling impressively, before shrugging. “Sure, might as well. I doubt the Prince will care, and all the rest of the men will be doing it. What do you have in mind?”

“Zuko wins, I pay your tab next time we’re in port,” Bato says. “Katara wins, you eat stewed sea prunes for dinner every night for a week.”

Jee raises an eyebrow. “You don’t want me to pay your tab?”

Bato makes a disgusted face. “Alcohol’s not really a thing in the Water Tribe—no plants to ferment, so nobody really has the taste for it.”

Jee looks mildly horrified. “Spirits, I can’t imagine not even having a beer after a shitty day,” he murmurs. “Alright, I agree to your terms.”

The two men shake on it, Bato towering over the much shorter Jee, and their interaction gives Hakoda a rare spark of hope for the future. He glances around, and even though the crowd is mostly segregated by nation, the size of the deck prevents the two groups from keeping distant. Where the red and the blue butt together, Hakoda sees far more handshakes and competitive smirks than glares.

A gong sounds, and Zuko immediately punches a trio of fireballs. Katara responds with an elegant sweep of her arms, raising a barrier of water that the fireballs impact harmlessly. She twirls in place, a ribbon of water flowing around her, and with a flick of her hand she snaps it at Zuko like a whip. Zuko launches himself into the air, neatly dodging, and extends one leg, fire trailing from his heel as he descends. As he lands, a line of fire extends toward Katara, who forms a glittering dome of ice around herself. The fire impacts against the top of the dome, which cracks, but does not shatter. A moment later the dome disappears, reforming into a shawl of water that covers Katara’s arms and shoulders. The water extends Katara’s reach incredibly, forcing Zuko to leap around acrobatically as she tries to catch him in the two streams. Every so often he sends a swipe of fire her way, which she easily bats away.

“Smart,” Jee mutters approvingly. “She’s not letting him establish a proper root.”

Hakoda is enthralled. Despite being born to the Water Tribe, he’s never actually seen a Master Waterbender fight. Katara is incredibly graceful, and yet her power is obvious.

Zuko lands in a puddle, and in a movement almost too quick to follow, Katara freezes the puddle, locking him in place. With a thrust of a bladed hand, she sends a spear of ice flying at him, but he manages to contort himself to dodge it in a move that makes Hakoda’s back ache sharply in sympathy.

“Stop _fucking moving_ , you _asshole!”_ She screeches at him, and Hakoda swears that Jee actually squeaks in shock. He’s not sure he wants to know where his sweet little girl learned such language.

“You tell him, Sweetness!” Toph cackles. 

A feral grin crosses Zuko’s face, and in a move spookily reminiscent of the waterbending Hakoda had just seen, twirls a ribbon of fire around his feet, melting the ice. He immediately spreads his feet back into a horse stance, punching a huge fireball at Katara. The Fire Nation sailors cheer triumphantly, and even Jee smirks.

Katara whips the fireball out of the air with her water, and starts shooting ice daggers. Zuko shoots each dagger out of the air with arrows of fire. The two combatants pause for a moment, and Zuko smirks and signs something that makes Katara clench her teeth and Sokka guffaw with laughter.

“What’d he say, what’d he say?!” Toph demands.

“ _‘My brother’s grandma shoots faster than you,’_ ” Sokka gasps, eyes tearing up in mirth.

It makes no sense to Hakoda, but the kids all seem to know exactly what Zuko means, as Toph bursts into bright giggles and Sokka howls.

“Shut _up_ Sokka, it was NOT that funny!” Katara snarls, twirling a huge plume of water over her head threateningly. Zuko settles deeper into his stance, golden eyes dancing.

Katara launches the water in a massive wave, and Zuko drops onto his back and whirls his legs around in wide circles, producing huge arcs of reddish golden flame. The elements collide with a crash, producing a huge cloud of steam. The steam is suddenly sucked away, gloving Katara’s hand as she darts straight at Zuko. Zuko swoops to his feet and extends a fist wreathed in flames. The water around Katara’s hand extends and turns to ice, forming a blade.

Katara and Zuko freeze in place. Katara’s ice blade is at his throat. Zuko’s fist, now absent of flames, is inches from her solar plexus.

There’s a split second of complete silence, broken only by the deep, even breaths of the two benders.

Then the entire crowd erupts into cheers.

Katara and Zuko separate, Katara bending the water coating the ship’s deck back into the ocean. They smile at each other, and bow in unison, Katara in the Water style and Zuko in the Fire style.

Zuko straightens and signs something, his broad grin fading into concern. Katara sighs, pressing the heel of her palm to her forehead. Whatever she says in reply is too soft for Hakoda to hear, but Zuko gently moves her hand down and wraps her in a hug, allowing her to hide her face in his shoulder. Sokka and Toph silently walk over to them, and Sokka places a hand on her shoulder.

Hakoda _wants_ , _so so badly wants_ , to go over there and wrap both his children up in his arms. But the few interactions he’s had with Katara since they reunited has made it clear that he is not welcome in her presence, so he waits. It shreds his heart, but he waits.

It helps to know that her brother and their friends are taking care of her. Toph stands close, obviously not a very huggy sort of person, but still wanting to be supportive. Sokka has his arm wrapped around Katara’s shoulders, their heads leaning together. Zuko signs something, his gestures small and contained, and Katara sighs and nods. With one last squeeze, Katara strides down the deck, Water Tribe and Fire Nation alike parting before her and staring after her in awe.

“That’s your daughter, Chief?” Jee asks. When Hakoda nods, he blows out a long breath. “Agni save us, I’d hate to be on the wrong side of her.”

 _Yeah_ , Hakoda thinks despondently, _me too._

After that, there’s a lot more mixing of the two groups, as those who had placed wagers on the fight collect on them and end up mingling. There are still plenty of hardliners in both camps who refuse to be in the others’ presence, but Hakoda figures that’s better than anyone actively picking fights and lets it go. As the days go on, the number of hardliners on each side shrink.

One afternoon, a little over a week after their journey begins, Jee lets him know that the ship’s coal stores are running low, and Hakoda readily gives him permission to set a course for a town at the edge of the East Lake where they can get more. He also decides that some shore leave is in order, to allow everyone some time to stretch their legs off the ship. There’s definitely a chance for someone to sneak away and tip off the occupying Fire Nation forces to their presence, but when Hakoda brings up the possibility, Jee just snorts derisively.

“At this point Chief, any squealer would have an equal chance getting arrested for dereliction of duty as he would finding someone who believes him that’s high up enough in the chain to do something about it,” the older man says.

Hakoda takes his word for it, and prepares accordingly.

What he is _not_ prepared for is stowaways.


	2. Earth Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Last time:**
> 
> _Hakoda takes his word for it, and prepares accordingly._
> 
> _What he is not prepared for is stowaways._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So blanket trigger warnings for racism, colonialism, and anything else I might have missed. Please let me know if I should tag for anything more specific!

Pipsqueak has been around. He’s not sure how long he’s been around for, he’s long forgotten his exact birthdate, but it’s been a while. At least sixteen years. Maybe closer to eighteen. He does know that his size is misleading, which can be a good or bad thing depending on what’s happening.

Right now, it’s a bad thing.

The Duke had picked the wrong pocket, and now half the town’s guard are chasing them through the docks. Pipsqueak can run, and he can run _fast_ , but he can’t do both for very long before he gets winded. He’s not a fucking fox-deer, for Shu’s sake.

The Duke can run for days, fast as a bended pebble, but Pipsqueak can already feel his chest tightening and starts looking for places they can duck down and hide until the ash-makers give up the chase. He spots a full coal tender sitting beside a Fire Nation ship, and yep, that’ll do. He grabs the Duke by his collar, tosses him in, and scrambles up and over the side.

They bury themselves just enough to keep from being seen, avoiding breathing in the coal dust as much as they can. They’re gonna be spitting black for a week, but avoiding the guard patrol is worth it.

He hears the guards run straight past their hiding place, and starts to dig out, but the Duke grabs his hand and shakes his head. There’s more voices, and clanks, and suddenly their hiding place lifts off the ground and goes flying through the air. Then there's a _clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk_ as the tender is slowly lowered down. The sun disappears with a pair of twin _thuds_.

“Pipsqueak?” Whispers the Duke. “I think we just got loaded onto a Fire Nation ship.”

_Oma’s tits_ , that’s not good. That’s really, really not good. An occupied town’s guard patrol was bad enough, now they’re stuck with a whole _ship_ full of ashmakers and no idea how to get away. 

Pipsqueak’s stomach churns as the boat starts swaying. “We gotta get out of here,” he rumbles. Between the black coal and the black darkness of wherever their hiding place has been stashed, Pipsqueak can barely see anything, and he really doesn’t want to breathe in anymore coal dust than he already has. They need a new hiding place, and _quick_ , before they’re discovered.

He climbs out of the tender, wincing when his boots make a loud _clang_ on the floor. The Duke is right behind him, and Pipsqueak lowers his little buddy down so he doesn’t fall.

They tiptoe out of the room and down a random hallway, trying to stay in the shadows. It helps that they’re covered in coal dust and look like shadows themselves.

They wander around for a while, hiding whenever they hear footsteps or voices.

Then something _really_ weird happens.

"They're over here," a high-pitched girl's voice declares, and a whole group of footsteps clatters toward their current hiding place. Pipsqueak shoves the Duke behind him as the door is flung open.

_"Pipsqueak?"_ Yelps a particularly short ash-maker, who takes off his helmet to reveal––

"Sokka?" Rumbles Pipsqueak.

"You know these guys, Snoozles?" Asks the tiny girl at Sokka's side. Under her dark red cloak, Pipsqueak can see brilliantly green clothes.

"Yeah, they were part of a gang we ran into that was going to blow up a dam and destroy an occupied village," Sokka says very fast, as the other ashmakers take off their helmets to reveal faces as dark skinned and eyes as blue as Sokka's. Pipsqueak is _really_ confused, but he's pretty sure that they're not going to kill him and the Duke, so when his little buddy pokes his own helmeted head out from behind Pipsqueak's leg, he doesn't push the kid back.

Sokka and the little girl (who introduces herself as Toph, the world's greatest Earthbender) lead Pipsqueak and the Duke up through the ship to the top of the tower. Two men, one dark skinned like Sokka and the other very obviously an ash-maker, are standing at a table in the middle which is covered in maps and writing supplies. With them stands the silent guy with the scar from the last time the Freedom Fighters ran into the Avatar’s gang (Zuko, Pipsqueak thinks is his name), and Pipsqueak can't figure out how he _hadn't even noticed that the guy is an ash-maker_. His head hurts.

"Hey Dad! Toph and I found some stowaways!" Sokka declares. The dark skinned man looks up with a raised eyebrow, while Zuko(?) blinks in shock.

"We didn't mean to," the Duke says. "We were just running from some guards."

"Well, that's something I wasn't expecting," Sokka's dad says offhandedly to the older ash-maker, who rolls his eyes.

Pipsqueak can't take it anymore. "What're you guys doing on a _Fire Nation_ ship?" He demands. "Why are you working with _ash-makers?_ "

Sokka's dad frowns. "Watch your language around here, young man," he says sternly. 

"It's nothing we haven't heard before, Chief," the ash-maker shrugs.

"Doesn't mean that he can talk that way to allies, regardless of where they're from," the Chief rumbles. 

Zuko steps around the two older men and moves his hands.

"Zuko wants to know if you have anywhere to go," Sokka says. "We're heading west, across the lakes, but we can drop you off before we get too far away from the river."

Pipsqueak looks at the Duke, who shrugs. 

"We don't really have anywhere to go," Pipsqueak says. "After the Freedom Fighters broke up, the Duke and I just wandered around, staying ahead of the Fire Nation soldiers."

"What's up with this boat?" The Duke asks. "Why are you all wearing that stuff? Where's Aang?"

Zuko and Sokka trade sad looks, and the Chief places a hand on Sokka's shoulder. "How about you kids catch up, and maybe get the Duke and…" He trails off, looking at Pipsqueak expectantly.

"Pipsqueak," the Duke supplies.

The Chief doesn’t even blink. "Get the Duke and Pipsqueak something to eat and clean up with. Unless you boys want to leave? Once we start across the East Lake, we're not going to stop for a while."

On the one hand, Pipsqueak is _really really_ curious about what the Avatar's gang is doing on a Fire Nation ship. On the other hand, if there's one ash-maker on the ship, there's bound to be more, and Pipsqueak _really_ doesn't trust ash-makers. But then the Duke's stomach rumbles loudly, and so does his, and Pipsqueak remembers that they haven't eaten in a day or so. It would be dumb to turn down food they don't have to steal or fight for.

"We'll stick around, I guess," Pipsqueak decides, and the Duke nods.

"Welcome aboard!" Sokka says brightly with a huge grin. Zuko rolls his eyes.

They lead Pipsqueak and the Duke to the kitchen, where they receive two bowls of noodles each from the ash-maker cook. The man ignores them entirely to bicker in a surprisingly friendly way with the Water Tribe cook about the way to prepare fish for storage. Pipsqueak can't stop staring as the two men talk and laugh together as they move through the cramped kitchen, looking like lifelong friends instead of the enemies they actually are. It's so _weird_.

Sokka's chattering nonstop as he and Zuko lead the way back to the top of the ship and to a comfy little alcove with crates to sit on. Pipsqueak is barely listening, mind too busy whirling around trying to understand everything from the last hour. The Duke immediately settles in and starts slurping up noodles, and Pipsqueak starts eating as well, not wanting to waste the food that's pretty much just fallen into their laps.

Sokka's still talking, but stops when the Duke asks "Where's Aang?" around a mouthful of noodles.

He and Zuko exchange glances, and Pipsqueak suddenly has a very, _very_ bad feeling.

"He got hurt… he got hurt _really_ badly," Sokka answers finally. "He's been asleep for about a week now. That's why we're on this ship––we're using it as a disguise to avoid the Fire Nation while he recovers. We have a plan, to try and end the war, and we need to get to the Fire Nation as quickly as we can."

Pipsqueak eyes a passing ash-maker sailor distrustfully. "Is that why you're keeping the ash-makers?"

Sokka frowns deeply at him. “Okay man, you need to quit it with that _ash-maker_ shit. I understand that you might have problems with the Fire Nation, I understand that they’ve probably hurt you or taken people from you or driven you out of your home. Okay? _I get that_ , they’ve done all three to me too, and I hated them for it for a long, _long_ time. But the only way we’re gonna be able to end this war without completely destroying the world in the process is if we _work together._ These sailors have sworn loyalty to Zuko, and not a single one has done anything to break our trust. Yeah, maybe some of them are only going along with it to stab us in the back later, and if that happens we’ll deal with it. But Pipsqueak, sometimes you gotta give trust to get trust, and give people a chance to prove themselves, one way or another.”

Pipsqueak stares at his half-eaten bowl, wondering what Jet would think of all this. He’d be furious to know that Zuko’s an ash-maker. He'd be completely livid to discover that the Avatar and his gang are working with ash-makers, no matter what the reason. Pipsqueak remembers long evenings spent sitting by the brazier Scrapper had found, listening to Jet rant about the evils of the Fire Nation and his plans to get rid of them all, starting with the Gaipan Valley and village. For a long time, Jet had been mostly just talk, and the plans they had carried out had been raids to steal supplies and pranks to screw around with the patrols, and it had been fun. But as more kids joined up, and the gang got more fighters, Jet got bolder. He started leading them on attacks against Fire Nation travelers of all types in their forest, civilian and military, and kept saying it was to drive the Fire Nation out. Pipsqueak had never had a problem with it—Jet had always kept them as safe as possible, especially the little kids, and besides, the ash-makers deserved whatever they got for daring to think they could just _take_ Earth Kingdom land and ruin people’s lives.

Didn’t they?

A cheer breaks out nearby, and Pipsqueak turns to see a pair of men arm wrestling with a crowd of mixed red uniforms and blue tunics cheering encouragement. Both men are wearing Fire Nation uniforms, but one has the dark brown skin of Water Tribe people, while the other has the pale skin of an ash-maker. The Water Tribe man is grinning like a wolf at his opponent, who is frowning in concentration.

“Is Xinyi trying to beat Ikusik in arm wrestling again?” Sokka groans. Zuko nods, rolling his eyes. He moves his hands in deliberate shapes, at one point holding his wrist like it hurts him.

“Yeah, Katara’s gonna freeze his eyeballs crossed if she has to heal that wrist again,” Sokka says with a laugh.

The Duke has already emptied his two bowls and is wandering over to the group. Some of the men look a bit confused, and some of the ash-makers glance over at Pipsqueak, Sokka, and Zuko as though to ask, _is this yours?_

“He’s fine, guys!” Sokka shouts back with a lazy wave.

The men nod, Water Tribe and ash-maker alike, and warmly welcome the Duke into the crowd.

“Okay, Pipsqueak, here’s the deal,” Sokka says, and Pipsqueak looks at him. “We’re gonna offer you and the Duke the same deal we gave the Fire Nation crew. You stick with us until we hit Haidao, help out on the ship and don’t make trouble, and if it’s what you guys _really_ want, you can take off the second your feet touch the ground, no questions asked. But if you want to stick with us past that, we’d be grateful. You just gotta give the Fire Nation crew a chance. If you _can’t_ be civil, then stay away from them. They’ll do the same, or Zuko and I will hear about it. You got me?”

Pipsqueak stirs his half-empty bowl, thinking hard. As much as he hates ash-makers, this is a pretty good deal. And the Avatar’s gang had stopped Jet from killing a whole village of people, so maybe whatever they’re planning for after they cross the lakes won’t be a complete shitshow the way Gaipan almost was. He’s not sure how much he trusts the ash-makers on the ship to leave him and the Duke alone, but Pipsqueak can lay a guy out flat with one punch. Worst comes to worst, Sokka’s dad the Chief can put Pipsqueak in the brig, and that’ll solve everyone’s problems.

“Fine,” Pipsqueak says. “They leave us alone, we leave them alone.”

“Pipsqueak, check me out!” The Duke calls out gleefully, standing at the arm-wrestling crate. A young ash-maker, maybe a couple years older than Pipsqueak, sits across from him. Their elbows are braced and their hands clasped, and when the Duke sees Pipsqueak watching, he starts pushing with all his might. The young ash-maker pretends to struggle as the Duke slowly and with all his strength pushes their hands down. Then there’s a _bang!_ as the Duke suddenly slams the ash-maker’s hand down. 

The men gathered around watching all cheer as the Duke jumps onto the crate and holds both arms up in victory. Even the loser ash-maker is cheering as he rubs his hand.

“Good luck with that, man,” Sokka smirks.

They show Pipsqueak the tiny cabin he and the Duke will share, which has two bunks and a couple of shelves and no windows at all, but a creepy red light on each wall above the bunks. He’s properly introduced to Toph, the Avatar’s Earthbending Master, and Pipsqueak makes a note to _never, ever_ piss her off. For such a tiny girl, she’s more terrifying than a whole boat full of ash-makers.

Their first night in the tiny cabin, Pipsqueak doesn’t sleep, worried that Sokka and Zuko are _wrong_ about their ash-maker crew and that the firebenders will roast them alive on this tin can of a ship. The Duke snores blissfully unaware, sacked out on top of Pipsqueak, and he’s not mad about it. One of them ought to get some sleep, after all.

The next day, as the ship chugs across the East Lake, he’s roped into helping fix some piping with a pair of ash-maker engineers and Master Toph. The Duke is off gathering intel (more like challenging anyone caught standing still long enough to an arm-wrestling match), and hasn’t been seen since breakfast, but Pipsqueak’s not worried. The Duke’s quick and hard to catch, and has a bite like a rabid catagator. Anyone who messes with the kid is gonna regret it, even before Pipsqueak gets there.

Right now, Pipsqueak is clutching a hammer in both hands and watching a girl whose head is the size of his bicep seal up a crack in an iron pipe like she’s pinching closed a dumpling. The ash-makers seem equally awestruck, although one is watching closely and murmuring instructions while the other stands by with a length of new pipe in his hands. Pipsqueak doesn’t think they’ll need it at this point, as Master Toph runs her hand along the now sealed crack and smooths out the bumps until it looks good as new.

"There we go," Master Toph says triumphantly. "Nothin' to it!"

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes…" The ash-maker holding the new pipe mumbles. Pipsqueak knows the feeling, as much as he really doesn't want to agree with ash-makers on anything. He's seen earth- and firebending, and he saw Katara do a little waterbending when the Avatar's gang came to Gaipan, but bending _metal?_ It's like something out of a story. 

"Master Toph, how did you learn to metalbend?" Pipsqueak asks as the ash-makers gather up their (unneeded) tools and scurry off.

Master Toph snorts like a boar-q-pine. "Got caught in a metal trap and had to bust my way out," she says, with a grin like a tigerdillo.

Well okay then. Pipsqueak doesn't bother trying to get any additional information. He knows a lost cause when he sees one.

He ends up following Master Toph to the upper deck, where Sokka and Zuko are sitting with a big mixed group of Water Tribe and Fire Nation men, all doing maintenance on spears and swords and other weapons. Sokka has an odd-looking metal crook in his hand that he's polishing to a shining blue sheen. Zuko has an unstrung bow beside him, and a mess of arrows in his lap. The Duke is sitting next to an ash-maker and asking rapid questions, which are answered in turns by the whole group. Pipsqueak hangs back, still not quite sure how much he wants to hang out with ash-makers, but Master Toph marches right up and plops herself down on the deck beside Zuko.

"Hey Sparky, gimme an arrowhead," she demands, and the ash-makers all pause. If Pipsqueak's reading their faces right (and how _weird_ it is to be able to see their faces at all!), they're shocked that Master Toph spoke that way to Zuko, but Pipsqueak's not really sure why. He knows that the kids in the Avatar's gang are all treated special, but aside from Sokka and Katara being Chief Hakoda's kids and Master Toph being, well, _Master Toph_ , he's not really sure why the ash-makers especially treat Zuko like he himself is the Avatar. He remembers Sokka saying yesterday that the ash-maker sailors had all "sworn loyalty" to Zuko, but what was it about the silent, scarred kid that had made them do that? 

Zuko gives Master Toph an arrowhead with an eager smile, tapping an odd pattern on the deck with an arrow shaft. Master Toph hums, running her fingers over it.

“Yeah, piece of cake, all you gotta do is get me the metal,” she says. “Steel’s your best bet, but I can do it with iron too. Be good practice to work on fiddly stuff like this.”

She and Sokka get into some kind of engineering debate, Zuko sitting serenely between them as he attaches feathers to shafts. 

Pipsqueak finds himself drawn into a discussion about bludgeoning weapons, and his stories about fighting Fire Army patrols with a tree limb gets surprisingly enthusiastic reception. Once he starts on the Jet and Freedom Fighter stories, he has the sailors of both sides hanging on his every word.

Almost against his will, he learns about the ash-maker sailors as they all exchange stories. Ren, who had lost against the Duke in arm wrestling, has nephews who were the Duke's age the last time he saw them. Tao had wanted to become a doctor, but could only afford the fees for medical school by enlisting in the Fire Navy. Ryota has been in the Fire Navy for longer than Pipsqueak's been alive, and only narrowly avoided being posted to one of the ships that was lost at the North Pole. Shion is the oldest of four siblings and his meagre Seaman's salary only barely covers the rent on the little one-room apartment they and his mother live in. Itsuki, Kazuya, Yeong, and Kosuke all come from families where nearly every member has or is serving in the Fire Nation forces. 

Rikuto had been a thief in the port district of the Fire Nation's capital city, and had been forced to choose between serving in the Fire Navy, or serving a life sentence in the Fire Nation's worst prison, the Boiling Rock. He’s barely older than Pipsqueak himself, and had only been on the ship for a few weeks before Chief Hakoda had captured it in the name of the Avatar.

To Pipsqueak's shock, he and Rikuto hit it off. They trade stories about growing up without parents or any other family, struggling to survive. The Duke introduces himself at dinner that night, and Rikuto practically melts for the kid. Rikuto tells them about Zuko (and it takes quite a bit of time for Pipsqueak to fully get on board with the idea that the Avatar's scarred, silent Firebending Master is the _lost Prince of the Fire Nation_ ), and Pipsqueak and the Duke share spirit-stories from the Earth Kingdom.

With his new friend, a week on the ship passes like a blur, until they're smack in the middle of the East Lake, with water for as far as the eye can see in every direction. Pipsqueak, Rikuto, and the Duke are watching Sokka and Zuko train with swords on the deck when a Water Tribe warrior bursts out of the control tower of the ship at a dead run.

"Prince Zuko! Sokka! Chief Hakoda and Captain Jee need you on the bridge immediately!" The man shouts, and the two younger boys stop immediately.

"We're on our way, Suluk," Sokka replies, handing the sword he'd been practicing with back to its owner. Zuko sheaths his own dual swords and sets off at a fast walk towards the tower, Sokka jogging to catch up.

Pipsqueak, Rikuto, and the Duke all look at each other.

"Whaddya think's happening, Pipsqueak?" The Duke asks.

"Dunno," Pipsqueak rumbles, not really sure he wants to know.

Rikuto sneers. "Might've been one of the hardliners trying something cute," he says. "Yi's been trying to drum up support for a mutiny, but aside from his own little handful of buddies, everyone else is too deep with Prince Zuko to go against him. He's our only chance of surviving the end of the war and whatever comes after."

They don't have to wait too long to find out. The door to the tower opens, and Zuko marches out, with Sokka at his right shoulder, both looking furious. Following them, with his hands encased in rock behind his back, is a Fire Nation man in a sailor's uniform. He's not wearing the armor that usually goes with the uniform, and he's got an incredible bruise on his cheekbone, but his head is high, and his lips are curled in a sneer.

"That's Yi," Rikuto whispers. "That dumbass, he probably tried something."

Following Yi are two of the most enormous of the Water Tribe warriors on the ship, and then come Chief Hakoda and Captain Jee. The Water Tribe Chief's face is practically carved from granite, but Captain Jee looks nearly as furious as Zuko does.

Nearly the entire crew of the ship is gathered on the deck, and everyone is silent as Zuko steps forward, Sokka taking a few steps back so he can see Zuko doing his hand-talking. Zuko begins, and Sokka's voice echoes over the open deck a second or so later.

" _'Petty Officer Yi has been caught attempting to contact Fire Nation forces in order to give away our location. He has put the lives of every single person on this ship in direct peril by his actions.'_ "

Pipsqueak watches as Zuko and Sokka turn to Yi. " _'Do you deny this accusation?'_ "

Yi raises his chin and glares at Zuko. "No I don't," he says plainly. "You and everyone who follows you are traitors to your nation. Long live Fire Lord Ozai!"

Yi shouts the last part, probably expecting everyone else to join in. Pipsqueak can't quite stop his smirk when he's met only with frosty silence. The smirk turns into a chuckle when he catches Captain Jee actually _rolling his eyes_ at the moron.

Yi is summarily sentenced to confinement in the ship's brig for the rest of the trip, and Pipsqueak definitely notices the Fire Nation crew's baffled relief when Zuko dismisses everyone else. He bides his time, though, and accompanies Rikuto on his duties through the ship. 

It's not until dinner that night that Pipsqueak brings it up.

"Heh, yeah," Rikuto says awkwardly, playing with his chopsticks and looking like he really wants to dive into his bowl of noodles. "It's kinda a thing. In the Navy. Mass punishment for various offenses. Honestly, it's pretty much up to the discretion of the ship's Captain, and before the Avatar's crew took over there was only one incident since I was posted here, but you hear stories from the vets sometimes. Supposed to keep the ship's crew in line or some bullshit like that."

"That's really mean," says the Duke, frowning at Rikuto.

"I haven't heard of anything like that in the Earth Kingdom Army," Pipsqueak adds.

Rikuto shrugs. "So much for the Fire Nation's vaunted _March of Civilization_ ," he says. "But yeah, what Prince Zuko did, not instituting a mass punishment for Yi's bullshit, that's nearly unheard of. It’s gonna net him a _lot_ of supporters."

"That's not why he did it, though?" Pipsqueak asks, confused. He's not entirely sure he understands what gathering supporters has to do with anything––as a member of the Avatar's gang, he's supposed to be a good guy, right? Good guys care about people, like Zuko does.

"No, I imagine not," Rikuto says. "If all the rumors and legends are true, he's one of the only members of the royal family that actually gives a damn about the people of the Fire Nation. But there's always gonna be people who care more about power than people, and _they're_ the ones who are gonna be watching and calculating Prince Zuko's rise to power. Supporters equals power, and the more supporters Prince Zuko has, the more powerful he gets."

Pipsqueak thinks back to Jet, and how as their gang had grown, they had been able to run more and more difficult jobs, and he kind of gets it. Zuko and the Fire Lord are the heads of two rival gangs trying to get control of the same territory. The Fire Nation people may not have had a choice when the Fire Lord came to power, but they do now, and if Rikuto is right, then they're going to choose Zuko. And if Pipsqueak thinks about it even more, he'd probably seriously consider joining a gang led by Zuko and the rest of the Avatar's friends. He thinks there's very little chance of a group led by the Avatar trying to kill innocent people on purpose to get to the ones they actually care about killing.

That night, as Pipsqueak lays in his bunk, the Duke comes over and heaves himself up onto Pipsqueak's belly.

"Pipsqueak?" He asks. "What're we gonna do when we get to Haidao?"

Pipsqueak's pretty sure he knows what he wants to do, but if the Duke has a different idea, he'll hear him out. They're a team, after all.

"Is there something you wanna do?" Pipsqueak asks.

The Duke chews on his lip a little bit. In just the last week alone, he's filled out a little bit, his eyes have gotten brighter and he's got a _lot_ more energy.

"I think," he starts, then pauses nervously. Pipsqueak makes a questioning sound, but doesn't otherwise speak. Sometimes the Duke needs a little encouragement to speak his mind, especially after Jet shut him down about the dam. 

"I think," he starts again, "that we should stay here, with Aang's gang. And try to help Rikuto and Zuko and the other guys get their home back. Yeah?"

Pipsqueak smiles, and ruffles the Duke's hair. "I think that's a good idea," he says. "Their gang could use our skills, huh?"

The Duke grinned. "Yeah!"

"I'll let Chief Hakoda know in the morning," Pipsqueak says, then nearly cracks his head open on a yawn. "C'mon, let's get some shuteye."

The next morning, Pipsqueak asks Sokka if he could have a word with Chief Hakoda, and the Water Tribe warrior immediately takes him up to the bridge, where Chief Hakoda, Captain Jee, and Zuko are all gathered around a map.

"Sorry I'm late, Dad, Pipsqueak wanted a word," Sokka says, striding right inside.

"Oh? Come on in, Pipsqueak, it's okay," Chief Hakoda says, smiling kindly despite the fact that Pipsqueak's obviously crashed a private meeting. “How can I help you?”

Pipsqueak raises his chin, squares his shoulders, and looks Zuko in the eye.

“The Duke and I did some talking,” he says, “and if you promise to try to be a better leader than Jet was—“ (because Jet _lied_ and Jet _used_ and Jet _may have cared but not enough to protect them from turning into the same monsters they were trying to fight_ ) “—we’ll help you and the Avatar end the war. We fight against enemy combatants only. No civilians.” _No lies. No tricks. No killing innocents._

Zuko signs something with a nod, expression serious, and Sokka replies for him, “ _‘You have my word.’_ ”

Pipsqueak nods, turns, and leaves.

They sail across the East Lake for another two weeks. They pass Fire Nation ships going in the opposite direction, but none of them seem to think anything’s up. Pipsqueak and the Duke wear Fire Navy uniforms, and Rikuto laughs as he helps Katara and a few other sailors alter the clothes to fit. By some incredible stroke of luck, the Quartermaster digs up a mantle guard (what Rikuto says the odd shoulder armor he and the other sailors/soldiers wear is called) and a helmet that actually fit Pipsqueak, and the Duke looks nervous the first time he sees Pipsqueak kitted out completely. After that, Pipsqueak makes sure to keep his head uncovered as much as possible when he’s in disguise, for the Duke’s comfort.

A few days after they cross the Serpent’s Pass, the Avatar wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well done to everyone who commented guessing who the stowaways were!


	3. Fire Nation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Last time:**
> 
> _A few days after they cross the Serpent’s Pass, the Avatar wakes up._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note the updated tags! And as always, let me know if I've missed anything!

Captain (formerly Lieutenant) Kenzo Jee did not foresee the direction his life had suddenly taken. If he had, he probably would’ve stayed off of the FNN Cruiser _Yilong_ and taken his honorary discharge at the end of the Great Siege of Ba Sing Se like his sister had begged him to. But Jee had wanted to try to soothe the hit his personal honor had taken after the ignominious retreat of Crown Prince-General Iroh’s forces at the First Inner Wall (he’d heard rumors of Prince-Colonel Lu Ten’s death, but the orders for full retreat had come as a complete shock—he’d thought, like everyone else, that the Dragon of the West would avenge his son and raze Ba Sing Se to the ground), and so had requested and received a lateral transfer to the Navy. 

He had regretted it almost immediately upon stepping aboard his first ship. The lack of earthbenders had been nice (no need to worry about flying rocks at any hour of the day or night), but the way the ship’s command treated the crew had very nearly made up for it. There had been times, that first year, that Jee had wondered if being under Prince-General Iroh’s command had spoiled him somehow. Jee had tried to keep his head down and not make sparks, but when the ship’s captain had cut rations for the entire enlisted crew for a minor infraction by a seaman barely old enough to shave, Jee hadn’t been able to help speaking out. The resulting demotion from Lieutenant Commander all the way back down to Ensign had set his career back almost ten years. 

Jee had just clawed his way back up to Lieutenant when Chief Hakoda and Prince Zuko had taken over the _Yilong_. In the confusion (no one, not one single spirit, had thought that the Water Tribe pirates would have not only a waterbender and an earthbender in their ranks, but a Koh-damned _Master Firebender_ as well), the majority of the ship’s commanding officers had been killed. After the entirety of the surviving crew had been packed into the brig like jarred komodo-rhino sausages, Jee had discovered that he was the highest ranking crew member left on the ship, which meant that dealing with the Water Tribe barbarians was _his_ very own personal headache. 

Somewhere in the Spirit World, Agni himself was laughing his shiny golden ass off at him.

When asked, he had faced Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe with all of the honor and dignity bred into him by generations of decorated military officers, in spite of the fact that he was pretty sure the imposing warrior would not hesitate to kill him if the fancy struck. It hadn’t really mattered, one way or another. Jee had been prepared to die.

He had _not_ been prepared to come face to face with a ghost.

The legend of the Lost Prince is a popular campfire tale, spoken only in whispers and out of earshot of anyone truly fanatical. It’s a tale of hope, that someday the war and its cruelties will end, and a new Fire Lord will teach his people how to calm their raging fires. It’s a tale about a boy who cared about the lives of his countrymen, who was willing to face the brunt of the Fire Lord’s rage in the name of mercy and compassion. The Prince himself is lost in the end (hence the rather unimaginative title), but what he stood for lives on.

Jee had looked into the Lost Prince’s disfigured face and fallen to his knees in both reverence and pure shock.

And when the Prince had asked for help in ending the war and taking the tyrant Fire Lord Ozai off the Caldera Throne, Jee had sworn himself to the Prince’s service right there and then.

Suddenly Jee found himself promoted to Captain and committing high treason against his homeland in the names of Prince Zuko and Avatar Aang. And to his surprise, he didn’t hate himself for it. Things had been tense the first several days of the ship’s occupation, but some friendly wagers on a sparring match between Prince Zuko and Master Katara had broken the ice, so to speak, and after three weeks and a few days of sailing he is pleased to count Chief Hakoda and Commander Bato as friends. He’s quite looking forward to settling his tab with Commander Bato— it’s been quite a while since he’s had good sake. He’d even take a bottom shelf baijiu to wash the taste of a week’s worth of stewed sea prunes out of his mouth.

The Avatar awakens from his coma on a mostly clear night a few days after passing through the Serpent’s Pass into the West Lake. Jee and Chief Hakoda are enjoying some tea on deck and idly reminiscing about the early years of the various children in their lives (Jee’s niece now has a baby of her own, and his nephews are now of an age with Prince Zuko and Master Sokka). Chief Hakoda has just wrapped up a hilarious tale of the time a three year old Katara accidentally froze an entire pot of stewed sea prunes completely solid, rendering an entire day’s work inedible and reducing her hungry brother to hysterical tears, when the forward door of the superstructure bursts open. A small figure wrapped in bandages and leaning heavily on a wooden staff staggers with surprising speed out onto the deck, followed by the massive form of Pipsqueak and the tiny one of the Duke. The bandaged figure falls on their face about two feet from where Jee and Chief Hakoda are standing, and the Chief drops his tea and crouches down to help them up.

"Twinkletoes, that's gotta be you!" Master Toph says, racing over with the biggest grin Jee's ever seen on her small face. Master Katara and Prince Zuko are right on her heels, and Commander Bato and Master Sokka converge from the other side. The Avatar's Masters all look incredibly relieved as they crowd around, Prince Zuko's hands flying as the others all babble nearly unintelligibly. This all turns to cries of dismay as the Avatar's eyes roll back into his head and he nearly crumples to the ground again, saved only by Prince Zuko's incredibly quick reflexes.

"Let's get him back to his room," Master Katara says firmly, and Prince Zuko obligingly arranges the child Avatar more comfortably in his arms and follows her back into the superstructure. Masters Sokka and Toph follow quickly behind.

Chief Hakoda crouches down and picks up his teacup, tossing the dregs of the spilled tea over the side of the ship. His brow is furrowed, and he seems to be thinking deeply about something.

"Captain, before you hit the rack for the night, come by my cabin," he says finally.

"Yes sir," Jee replies, only barely keeping his surprise from his face. Chief Hakoda nods, almost absently, and sends a significant glance at Commander Bato before turning and heading belowdecks. The Commander is only a few steps behind him.

Jee finishes out the evening shift with some busywork, checking in with the navigators and the comms operatives, ensuring that they're still on course for Haidao, and that their required reports for the nearest communications towers are clean. They haven't received anything yet that might indicate that their cover is compromised, but Jee hasn't gotten this far by being sloppy in anything. Remaining in contact with the communications towers had been risky, but it had paid off handsomely in terms of knowing exactly where everyone else in the Eastern and Western Fleets was at any given time, which made it easier to avoid them. They also knew that Princess Azula had taken the Eastern Fleet's fastest cruiser back to Caldera, and that she had reported the Avatar as KIA. When Jee had reported this information to Prince Zuko, Chief Hakoda, and Master Sokka when it had arrived about a week and a half ago, the Avatar's strategist had gotten a very worrying glint in his eye that had made both the Prince and the Chief side-eye him.

The signal for night shift is blown, and Jee makes his way to Chief Hakoda's cabin. It's across the passageway from the cabin shared by Prince Zuko and Master Sokka, in the superstructure one level below the Avatar's cabin. He straightens his uniform and armor, smooths his topknot, and knocks on the door.

"Come in," calls Chief Hakoda, and Jee enters.

The cabin is crowded. Chief Hakoda sits with a map of the Fire Nation obviously taken from the ship’s map room, Master (or maybe Prince, in this instance? Jee and the Chief had spoken of their cultures to each other, but somehow titles and leadership succession never really came up) Sokka sitting at his right hand and Prince Zuko at his left. Commander Bato hovers behind Chief Hakoda’s shoulder, arms crossed. What really surprises Jee is the presence of both Master Toph and Master Katara, although the latter does not look at all happy to be there.

“Captain, please have a seat,” Chief Hakoda says, and Jee knows an order when he hears it. He settles himself into formal seiza across the map from the Chief, and breathes evenly to keep his inner flame calm in his chest.

Prince Zuko’s expression is calm but serious, and he flashes Jee the Fire Nation Army hand-signal for “at ease”. Jee relaxes his shoulders, and wonders briefly what on earth his Prince has been up to in the last three years before his attention is sharply diverted.

“Captain, what I’m about to tell you cannot leave this cabin until I give the word,” Chief Hakoda begins. “The Avatar’s job is to bring balance to the world. I think we can both agree that Fire Lord Ozai has done more to harm the balance of the world in the last six and a half years than anyone since Fire Lord Sozin wiped out the Air Nomads a hundred years ago. Therefore, it is the Avatar’s job to face Ozai and hold him accountable for his actions. In order for that to happen, we need to get him as close to the Fire Lord as possible.”

“In a little over a month, there’s going to be a total solar eclipse,” Master Sokka says. “On that day, we are going to lead an invasion of the Caldera Palace City and Capital Port. While Dad’s warriors and as many of our Earth Kingdom allies as we can find capture control of the cities, Aang is going to confront the Fire Lord.”

_Feeling your blood freeze_ is a Water Tribe phrase, but Jee finds that it perfectly describes the feeling that comes over his body as the words wash over him. 

Prince Zuko raises his hands, and Master Sokka translates for him. “ _‘Please understand that our goal is not to punish the Fire Nation or its people. Fire Lord Ozai is a tyrant who has actively encouraged the propagation of our worst traits as firebenders and human beings for his own greed and ambition. He needs to be removed from power, and this is the best way to accomplish that goal. We are telling you this now so that you can decide for yourself what you want to do. We welcome any and all help we can get, but I understand that it might be asking too much to go this far against what you have spent your entire life believing.’_ ”

“If you or anyone else on the crew decide not to participate, you will be allowed to go your own way from Haidao, with no other consequences unless you fight against us in battle,” Chief Hakoda says.

Jee knows for a fact that if this were Ozai, rising in military coup against Azulon or Iroh, he would be _ordered_ to participate, and refusal would be met with swift and painful death. Same if it were Azula, although from what he’s heard of her, the Crown Princess is good enough at mind games that he would probably end up forgetting any objections he might have. 

Ironically, Zuko giving him a choice, with the stakes for refusing so low as to be nonexistent, is what makes Jee’s decision for him. It’s very likely (almost certain) that if this insane scheme fails and everyone is captured, the tyrant Fire Lord will make their executions both public and very, very painful. There’s also potential for backlash against any close family of those involved.

But if it _works_ …

If it works, then the war would end. They could see their families again. They could dance, and learn to think for themselves, and be _free_ , for the first time in over a hundred years.

Jee neatens his seiza, looks Prince Zuko in the eyes, then bends forward, touching his forehead to the floor, extending his arms straight out, and placing his palms flat on the floor.

“I am honored beyond measure to follow Prince Zuko wherever he leads, be it the battlefield or the Royal Court of Caldera,” he says. “I will serve Your Highness in whatever capacity you deem acceptable to the very best of my abilities.”

As he rises from the formal kowtow, he registers the proudly content expression on his Prince’s face, and the faint shock on the faces of the Water Tribespeople. Master Toph is smirking openly.

“Man, I keep forgetting you’re an actual _prince_ , and then one of your guys goes and does _that_ ,” Master Sokka remarks, rolling his eyes at Prince Zuko.

Prince Zuko simply rolls his eyes back at his friend, and raises his hands to sign.

“ _‘You honor me with your faith and loyalty,’_ ” Master Sokka translates. “ _‘I only hope that I can live up to your expectations.’_ ”

Chief Hakoda smiles. “Glad to have you on board with this, Captain. We won’t keep you much longer, I know you need some rack time and so do the rest of us.”

“Basically we need to know how likely it is that the rest of the crew will want in on the plan,” Master Sokka says.

Jee glances at Prince Zuko, who nods his permission to speak. “Aside from the dozen or so hardline Ozai loyalists, the most vocal of whom is still residing in the brig, at the present I’m reasonably sure that a majority of the crew would be ready and willing to swear their service to the Prince immediately if asked. At least 170 out of the 200-odd of us.”

_“Spirits damn,”_ mutters Master Toph in a very impressed tone, prompting Master Katara to gasp a scandalized _“Toph!”_

“The rest would probably refuse to protect their families from retaliation from Ozai’s regime,” continues Jee.

“That’s understandable,” Chief Hakoda says with a nod. “Tui and La know that if I’d had that option I’d have taken it in a heartbeat. Too late for that now, though," he adds ruefully, glancing at his son and daughter. Master Sokka grins sheepishly, but Master Katara glares down her nose at him before pointedly looking away. 

Prince Zuko begins to sign again, and Master Sokka translates, " _'Chief Hakoda and I will let you know before we address the crew about this. For now, it goes no further than this room.'_ "

Jee bows again. "I understand, Your Highness."

"Get some rest, Captain," Chief Hakoda orders gently, and Jee nods and leaves, head spinning.

It takes him a long time to fall asleep that night.

The next morning, Jee is on the bridge when Avatar Aang is debriefed by his Masters and Chief Hakoda. Avatar Aang seems a bit unsettled by Jee's presence, especially since Jee had ordered the bridge cleared before the group arrived, and therefore is the only person not in the Avatar's immediate circle present. 

The Avatar is not best pleased by the news that the world thinks he's dead. Master Sokka tries to get him to see the strategic advantage this gives them, but the Avatar has an expression on his face not unlike the sketch of his pouting fourteen-year-old nephew his sister had sent him a while back. Jee reflects on the fact that the Avatar is a _child_ , and wonders what he did in a past life to justify this madness.

Someone hammers on the door to the bridge, and calls out "Captain! Fire Nation cruiser off the port bow! They've set course to intercept!"

The Avatar struggles to his feet, looking like a stiff wind would blow him over, and plants his staff on the decking. "I'll take care of this," he says through gritted teeth. "The Avatar is back!"

"Aang, wait! They don't know we're not a Fire Nation ship!" Master Sokka says, jumping to his feet and hovering protectively beside the younger boy. Avatar Aang grits his teeth, and allows Master Sokka to ease him back down to sit.

"Everyone stay calm," Chief Hakoda says, rising and putting on his helmet. "Captain Jee and I will handle this. Captain?"

Jee nods at the unspoken order and opens the receiver for the ship-wide address system. "Attention all hands, this is Captain Jee. We are on course to intercept a Fire Nation Loyalist ship. All crew not in uniform go belowdecks immediately. I repeat, we are on course to intercept a Loyalist ship. All crew not in uniform are to go belowdecks _immediately_. Stand by for further instructions. Alert status is orange. Repeat, alert status is orange."

"Sokka, Zuko, keep Aang in the superstructure," Chief Hakoda orders. "Aang, I understand that you're going to want to help, but you're still hurt and we need to keep you under wraps."

Prince Zuko signs something that makes Avatar Aang wilt and nod.

Jee puts on his own helmet, and leads the group back down to deck level. Masters Katara and Toph, wrapped in the cold-weather cloaks from the ship's stores, hide in the forward ladder, while the Avatar's sky bison hunkers down on the aft deck and is covered with a tarp. The men going about their duty shift are all wearing Fire Navy uniforms, and Jee is pleased to note that he can't see any signs of anything amiss as he positions himself before the forward access, Chief Hakoda at his right.

The FNN Cruiser _Menglong_ pulls up along the _Yilong_ ’s port side, and extends a gangplank from her aft access to _the Yilong_ ’s forward one. The _Menglong_ ’s captain and two ensigns cross the gangplank and board the _Yilong_.

“Captain, why are you off course?” He scowls at Jee. “All Western Fleet ships are supposed to be moving toward Ba Sing Se to support the occupation.”

Jee knows this, and has known it since before the ship was taken over. The Western Fleet, cruising the eastern Mo Ce Sea and the waterways and coastlines of the western side of the Earth Continent, had been ordered to move east to Ba Sing Se. The Eastern Fleet, to which the _Yilong_ had belonged before the hijacking, had been ordered to move south along the eastern coast of the Earth Continent and to secure Chameleon Bay for the incoming Western Fleet.

“We’re from the Eastern Fleet,” Jee responds. “We have orders to deliver some cargo to Pohuai at the request of High General Shinu.” Prince Zuko had been surprisingly delighted to learn of the Commander of Pohuai’s promotion.

_Menglong_ ’s Captain doesn’t snort in derision, but it’s a close thing, Jee can tell. “Ah, _Eastern Fleet._ Nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way.”

“Admiral Chan’s been on leave at Ember Island for the last two months,” Jee counters evenly. “Things at Eastern Central Command have been… erratic, in his absence. We’ve maintained contact with the comms towers.” He raises an eyebrow at the other Captain, subtly trying to imply that it’s his own damn fault if he doesn’t check in with his own comms officers.

Judging by the way his jaw twitches and his eyes narrow, the barb has struck, and Jee is careful to keep his triumph off his face.

“Carry on then,” _Menglong_ ’s Captain grits out.

Jee and Chief Hakoda salute with the Flame, which is returned by the three officers from the _Menglong_ , and then watch as they return to their ship. Once the gangplank has been retracted and the _Menglong_ has started moving away from the _Yilong_ 's side, Jee marches ( _not_ runs) to the forward door of the superstructure, where Prince Zuko, Avatar Aang, and Master Sokka are waiting in the passageway, Chief Hakoda, Master Katara, and Master Toph tight on his heels. Once Jee is inside, he breaks into a full out sprint up the ladders to the bridge, the entire group right behind him.

"Helmsman, full steam ahead!" He commands as he bursts onto the bridge. "Get us the fuck out of here!" 

"Yessir!" Helmsman Yazhu replies, jumping to work.

The tube from the aft lookout squawks for attention. _"Lookout to bridge! Lookout to bridge!"_

Jee grabs the horn. "Go for bridge."

_"Bridge, the_ Menglong _is under attack from the Lake Serpent! Repeat, the Lake Serpent has attacked the_ Menglong _!"_

Jee turns to his Prince, who looks positively sick. Master Katara and Avatar Aang are pressed tight to his sides, both looking at the Prince concernedly, and Master Sokka has a hand on the Prince's shoulder. Master Toph is leaning nearly her whole weight against his front.

Jee hates himself for asking, but… "Sir? Should we assist the _Menglong_?"

Prince Zuko closes his eyes, sets his jaw, and gives one sharp, short shake of his head. Chief Hakoda gently squeezes his free shoulder, and the Avatar and his Masters clump in tighter around him.

"I understand, sir," Jee says. He turns back to the horn. "Bridge to lookout."

_"Go for lookout."_

"Lookout, resume normal sweep," Jee orders. 

_"… Yes sir."_

"Helmsman, all ahead full," Jee commands as he closes the horn.

"Yes sir."

Jee turns to Prince Zuko. His Prince is crying in complete silence, and as he meets Jee's eyes, Jee is reminded that his Prince is a _teenager_. A _child_. A child who had just made the nearly impossible decision to put the life of the Avatar, the last hope of peace for the world, above those of his own countrymen.

"My Prince, may I speak freely?" Jee asks softly.

Prince Zuko nods, royal golden eyes red and wet.

"My Prince, you made the right decision," Jee states baldly. "The security of the Avatar and of yourself is paramount. I know it hurts, and I know that it's awful, but we could not risk the chance of discovery had we gone to the _Menglong_ 's aid. I'm sorry that you had to make that decision, but I believe it was the correct one."

Prince Zuko takes a deep breath, and frees his hand from Master Katara's grasp. He touches the fingertips of his hand, held flat, to his lips, and then extends it out towards Jee, palm up. The gratitude in his eyes is unmistakable.

"You're welcome, Your Highness," Jee says, and bows with the Flame.

Prince Zuko dips his head in response, and Master Sokka tugs on his shoulder gently.

"C'mon, buddy, let's go have some tea," the Avatar's strategist suggests.

The rest of the Avatar's Masters make agreeable noises, and they gently hustle Prince Zuko off the bridge, Chief Hakoda trailing along behind.

Jee finishes his shift, feeling the eyes of every single member of the bridge crew on his back as he performs his duties. When he hands over control of the bridge to his XO and steps out, Chief Hakoda is waiting for him on the other side of the hatch. Jee sighs.

"I need a fucking drink," he tells the Water Tribe chief, and leads the way to his cabin. Chief Hakoda follows him silently.

In his cabin, Jee digs out the bottle of rotgut his brother-in-law had given him when his transfer had gone through. It's about half full, which Jee believes is a miracle considering the absolute shitshow the last six years have been. Without bothering to try to find a cup, he uncorks the bottle and takes a long swig.

"How's the Prince?" He asks finally.

Chief Hakoda settles himself cross-legged on the floor, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Struggling," he says softly, "but his friends are helping him. I left them in the boys' cabin all piled on top of him." The Chief sighs and scratches at his wolftail. "I've often wished that I would someday be able to strangle Ozai to death with my bare hands, but never so much as I wished to today."

Jee finds himself in complete agreement, but he knows as well as Chief Hakoda does that that fantasy will not come true for them. 

"Speaking of the tyrant," Jee says, after another big gulp of his liquor, "I would seriously recommend bringing the rest of the crew up to speed, and soon. Prince Zuko's decision on the bridge will be all over the ship before sunrise, and the men are going to want answers."

Chief Hakoda sighs again. "Yeah, you're right. The Avatar's attitude is going to be an issue as well."

"The savior of the fucking world is a _child_ ," Jee groans mournfully. "And the next leader of the Fire Nation isn't much older. The spirits are laughing their fucking _asses_ off at us."

Jee really, _really_ wants to finish off the bottle in his hand, but he can’t afford to be hungover when he goes back on duty in the morning, so he only has a few more gulps before corking the bottle and putting it away.

“I’m going to address the crew tomorrow morning,” Chief Hakoda says suddenly. “We’ve got about a week until we reach Haidao, they can have until then to think things over. Our original deal will stand—they can continue with us, or leave the ship with no consequences.”

Jee nods. “Might want to have some of your warriors guard the comms office until we know who can be trusted.”

The Chief nods. “Good idea. Well, I’ll let you hit the rack. Good night, Captain.”

“Good night, Chief,” Jee replies.

The next morning, Jee calls for a ship-wide briefing to take place on the forward deck. Anyone not on essential duty or in the rack is to attend. When everyone is gathered or otherwise accounted for, Prince Zuko faces the crew and, with Master Sokka translating, explains why he gave the order not to assist the _Menglong_.

The sheer novelty of a commanding officer, much less a _royal_ , explaining his actions to his subordinates renders the entire crew shocked into silence. When Prince Zuko yields the stage to Jee and Chief Hakoda, not a sound is heard.

The Chief gives everyone the bare facts: the eclipse now just five weeks away, the invasion planned by Master Sokka, the aid that has been sought in the Avatar’s name from various forces from around the Earth Kingdom.

“What I want everyone to understand is that the purpose of this action is to remove Fire Lord Ozai from power and end the Hundred Year War as quickly and bloodlessly as possible,” Chief Hakoda finishes. “If you cannot join this effort for any reason, you will be free to leave the ship at Haidao with no consequences."

Chief Hakoda steps back, and muttering breaks out among the crew. Jee steps up, and the silence is once again absolute.

"I understand if you're uncertain," Jee says. "I was too, when Chief Hakoda and Prince Zuko told me their plans. But I want everyone to understand this: if something isn't done, the tyrant Fire Lord will not stop until the entire world is reduced to ash, the Fire Nation included. I have family. I have nephews, and a niece, and a little grand-nephew I have never met. Their future will be in jeopardy if Ozai continues his war. I have a chance to make their lives, their futures, better. And I am taking it. If I am the only one, then so be it, but I urge every single one of you to think long and hard about the kind of Fire Nation you want to live in, and the chances that you will live to see it under Fire Lord Ozai. You have a week to decide. Dismissed."

As the _Yilong_ chugs across the West Lake and through the flooded Great Divide, Jee watches as more and more crew begin to truly question the things they've been taught by life in the Fire Nation. Prince Zuko reports being (cautiously) approached by multiple members of the crew, asking about his commitment to the Avatar, and his commitment to the Fire Nation, and his plans for various aspects of life after the war. Even Chief Hakoda reports being questioned about his motives for attacking the Fire Nation. No one has approached any of the three of them to declare their intentions, but no one has written any messages warning of the incipient invasion, either, and Jee is cautiously optimistic that the crew are doing what he asked and really thinking things through.

Jee calls for another ship-wide briefing the morning they're projected to pull into Haidao. This time, he addresses the crew by himself.

"We will drop anchor at Haidao this evening, just before sunset," he declares. "Have you decided?"

For a moment, no one speaks, until young Seaman Rikuto rises and shouts, "DOWN WITH OZAI! LONG LIVE PRINCE ZUKO!"

As one, the entirety of the crew of the former FNN Cruiser _Yilong_ rises and takes up the chant.

They pull into Haidao that evening, right on schedule, and Jee authorizes shore leave for the entire crew. Master Toph says something about "prying Twinkletoes out of his sulk-cave", and Jee, Chief Hakoda, and Commander Bato escort former Petty Officer Yi out of the brig and off the ship. Jee sees the man off with stern words against showing himself to any Fire Nation loyalist forces, and is very impressed with Commander Bato's inventive threats.

"Well, Commander, I believe you owe me a drink," Jee says politely once the coward has run off. 

"Lead the way, Captain," Commander Bato says, the very picture of good humor. 

They end up in the same tavern chosen by most of the crew, one known to be somewhat Fire Nation-friendly as long as nothing gets burnt. Prince Zuko and the Avatar's Masters are there as well, although it appears that the Avatar himself has declined to join them. Jee gets a bottle of sake and a cup from the bar and brings it back to the table, where Chief Hakoda and Commander Bato are reminiscing about something utterly incomprehensible from their youth in the South Pole.

It’s a pleasant night, and over a bit too quickly in Jee’s opinion, even though he has to lean a bit more heavily on Bato’s arm on the way back to the ship than his pride would have liked. The entire crew makes it back to the ship, and they’re sailing into the Mo Ce Sea on the midnight tide.

It’s not until morning that Jee learns that the Avatar had fled the ship while it was in port, and that his Masters had followed him on the sky bison almost as soon as his absence had been discovered.

The news that Prince Zuko has left the ship is a small blow to morale, but everyone understands that their Prince’s place is at the Avatar’s side, teaching him and protecting him until it is time for him to face the tyrant Fire Lord. Their place is to gather the forces their Prince and the Avatar will need to invade Caldera.

They turn south, to the Foggy Swamp. Apparently there are waterbenders there that no one knew existed until Avatar Aang and his Masters stumbled upon them. When they arrive, about a week after leaving Haidao, Chief Hakoda takes a longboat into the swamp and returns with over two dozen men and women dressed in leaves and tree bark. One stout fellow with a springy mop of gray hair demonstrates a frankly unnerving ability to _bend plants_.

They go back towards Haidao, stopping in a formerly occupied mining town and picking up what seems like an entire platoon’s worth of earthbenders and a refill of coal and other supplies. Two of the earthbenders apparently know Master Toph from an underground bending tournament they had all participated in. Tyro, the unofficial leader of the group, and his son Haru had run into Avatar Aang and Masters Sokka and Katara early in their journey North, and credited Master Katara with giving them the courage and resolve to take back their village from occupying Fire Nation forces.

Upon returning to Haidao, they are met by none other than the Mechanist himself, Lei Ren, inventor of over half of the Fire Nation’s most advanced war machines. He and his son Teo had somehow managed to smuggle half a dozen odd-looking tanks and an equal number of fish-like contraptions he called “submarines” down from the Northern Air Temple, nearly half a continent away. There was only just enough room in the _Yilong_ ’s hold for the machines, in addition to the cleverly deconstructed Water Tribe ships Chief Hakoda and his men had stashed down there.

They spend two days in Haidao getting everything settled and finalizing the details of the invasion plan. The last evening in port, Jee finds himself back in the crew’s favorite tavern, nursing a cup of baijiu and marveling at the sight of Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe people all peacefully intermingling. 

“Incredible, isn’t it?” A smooth baritone voice asks, and Jee nearly wrenches his neck as he turns to face the speaker. He finds a trim man in navy blue and white robes, a yun jian of white petals around his neck. His silver-streaked dark hair is fastened in a traditional Fire Nation half-knot, and his beard is short and neatly trimmed in the current style.

“Apologies for startling you, Captain,” the man says, smoothly bowing with the Flame. “I had heard some rumors, and have come to have them proven or disproven. Tell me, you are the captain of the former Fire Nation Navy Cruiser _Yilong_ , are you not?”

Jee is immediately suspicious, and draws himself up to his full height. He only has about half an inch on the guy, but by Agni he's going to use it. "Who's asking?"

"Ryoichi of Fire Fountain City, Firebending Master," the man answers. "I'm looking for a former student of mine. Perhaps you've heard of him––Prince Zuko of Caldera?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: **Infiltration**
> 
> Okay, so quick update on the State of the Iceberg: Zine pieces are done, the next installment of _Dragon_ is done, however, Part 34 is being tricky, and I want to get it wrangled and Part 35 done before I start posting again. It'll come, because I've never been this close to finishing an entire _series_ before and I'm not about to stop now, but it's gonna take a little bit. Thanks for your patience!


End file.
